


The Importance of a Good Cologne

by McNagelpuff



Category: Rooster Teeth/Achievement Hunter/Funhaus RPF
Genre: Christmas, Fluff, M/M, Mavin is background only
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-01-01
Updated: 2016-01-01
Packaged: 2018-05-10 22:18:52
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,655
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5603002
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/McNagelpuff/pseuds/McNagelpuff
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>A sleep deprived Ray has been dragged to the mall by his overenthusiastic roommate and now he's been left in between crazed christmas shoppers and oversized christmas decorations. What's a guy to do other than follow that handsome stranger who smells really nice?</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Importance of a Good Cologne

**Author's Note:**

> A small vaguely christmas-y raywood oneshot, because why not.  
> Based on [this tumblr post](http://mcnagelpuff.tumblr.com/post/136390330595/ginaloveszero-imagine-your-otp).  
> (Sorry if there's errors, it hasn't been beta'd, but I'll fix mistakes as i find them)

Ray hated the mall. There were too many people and too much noise. Too many snotty kids running around screaming and too many overly enthusiastic salespeople trying to push stuff he didn't need on him.

At christmas it was five times worse and the stupid christmas songs blasting over the speaker system was giving him a headache, but his roommate Michael had dragged him there, saying that he needed to buy presents and that Ray couldn't just sit on his ass playing video games all of december. Ray had been too tired to put up a real fight and soon he found himself shuffling around the many people and christmas decorations. He hadn't slept for like three days, partly because of insomnia, partly because why sleep when there were games to play?

So there he was trying to not fall asleep against the huge fake plastic tree that towered over the many shoppers.

Michael was way too energetic dragging him from store to store to look at things that he didn't even have the money to buy because he'd just been fired from his shitty job at gamestop.

He was staring at an elaborate display of kitchen appliances, just kinda tuning in and out, mind fuzzy, when he heard a familiar squawk behind him. When he turned around he saw none other than Gavin making his way between the masses towards him and Michael, almost tripping over a small child and tilting over a plastic santa on the way. He sighed heavily as Michael’s eyes lit up and he hurried over to greet his boyfriend.

“Michael! Ray! What're you two doing here?”

“We're obviously being hunted by a mass invasion of aliens, Gavin, what does it look like we're doing” Ray said with an eyeroll, but neither of the others were listening to him, too busy making doe eyes at each other and yattering about the unlikeliness of them running into each other in the massive mall.

They seemed to have almost already forgot about Ray, so he just trudged in their heels into some clothing store. They quickly dispersed in between the many racks of overpriced t-shirts and Ray found himself walking aimlessly in the store from time to time picking up Michael’s laughter from somewhere near. At some point he came upon a row of cuddly sweaters and just kinda face planted into the soft fabric, wishing he was back home in his bed.

The next thing he knew was an annoyed looking employee asking him, whether he was ok and if he was finding what he was looking for. Ray just grunted vaguely and luckily the employee took it as a yes and walked off again. Ray decided that he should probably try and locate Michael and Gavin again, lest they’d leave him in the store by himself.

After around ten minutes of searching through the store Ray had to admit that that seemed to be exactly what they had done. He sighed heavily and went out of the store, trying to see if he could find them somewhere outside.

Standing there, trying to spot his so called friends through the mass of people, swaying with pure tiredness, he was suddenly woken slightly by a waft of the most divine smell he'd ever smelled. He poked his nose out almost comically and his feet followed the amazing smell without his agreement.

Ray breathed in heavily. It was like a mix of rain after a long draught, wood that had just been split, and freshly baked bread, and in Ray's sleep addled brain it was the best thing he'd ever smelled.

After following the smell for a few minutes he suddenly realised that it belonged to a tall man walking slowly through the mall. The man was tall, broad shouldered and had half long brown hair that moved slightly when he passed an air condition vent, and yes it was absolutely him, the air condition blew a fresh breeze of the smell towards Ray, and he breathed in heavily.

Ray's brain went fuzzy again, and almost asleep walking, he let his feet follow the stranger.

He barely registered them leaving the mall, the light wind outside only blowing more of the fragrance towards Ray.

That had to be some kind of cologne right? No one just smelled that good and that strongly from nature's side. Ray was just starting to think about how he could go about asking where he could get a hold of the cologne without sounding super creepy and if it was even worth it since there was no way he'd be able to afford it anyway, when abruptly his thoughts were halted by him colliding with something surprisingly soft and warm. The next thing he knew, was a sharp pain in the back of his head and when he opened his eyes he was lying on the cold pavement.

Ray vaguely heard a deep voice talking to him.

“Oh my god, I'm so sorry, are you okay?” the voice sounded concerned and suddenly he was looking up into the face of a very handsome man with very blue eyes.

Ray felt his mouth open and close, but there was no sound coming out.

“Are you dizzy? Did you hit your head?”

“Ow” was the only thing coming out of Ray's mouth, though now that the deep voice said so, he did feel kinda dizzy, but whether it was from hitting his head or from tiredness Ray couldn't say.

“I'm so so sorry, please stay awake, I'm gonna call an ambulance!”

At this Ray perked up slightly. “No!” he yelled a bit too loud and winced when it hurt his head. The man looked at him confused. “No, I mean, i don't have health insurance right now” he said slurring a bit. Understanding passed over the man's face. “You should really get some medical help, you could have a concussion” he said, but when a warm hand brushed past Ray’s head a waft of that smell from before hit Ray's nose, only ten times more potent. Ray took a deep breath and felt his vision go wobbly. “You smell really nice” was the last thing he managed to say before he blacked out.

When he woke up again he was laying on something very comfortable, definitely not the pavement then. Something soft and warm was covering his body and when he opened his eyes he found himself to be laying on a couch in a nice looking living room, a thick blanket had been thrown over him and he almost couldn’t help burrowing into the comfortable heat, but the unknown place worried him and instead he sat up cautiously.

“You probably shouldn't move around too much”

Ray whipped his head around towards the person speaking and immediately winced when it made his head spin.

A tall, handsome man was leaning on a doorframe behind Ray.

“I'm glad you're awake, I was starting to get worried.” He said, moving towards Ray and setting a glass of water on the coffee table next to the sofa.

“Where am I? Who are you?” Ray asked, confused.

“Oh, sorry, my name is Ryan, you bumped into me and fell and hit your head right outside my apartment. You didn't want me to call an ambulance, so when you passed out i just carried you up and put you here. I hope that's ok? I didn’t wanna leave you on the sidewalk.. I was getting kinda worried though, you've been out all night.”

“What?!”

“Yeah, I was afraid I'd have to explain to the police why I had a dead body on my couch.”

The man, Ryan, chuckled and picked up the water again, before passing it to Ray, who took it gingerly. When Ryan came closer, Ray suddenly got the most lovely smell in his nose and abruptly all the events of the day before flooded back to him. He groaned and hid his head in the soft blanket, subsequently almost spilling the water all over himself.

“Are you ok?”

“No”

“Do you want me to get you anything?”

“No”

“Are you sure? I was making pancakes if you feel up to it?”

Ray didn't say anything, but suddenly his stomach gave a very loud growl.

Ryan laughed. “I'm guessing that's a yes then”

“Traitor” Ray said towards his stomach.

Ryan laughed again and Ray decided that he quite liked the sound.

Alone, Ray was now left to study the room he was in. It was nice and bright, pale winter light shining through the window, but there was still enough clutter, a minimal amount of christmas decorations, and some books and paper strewn around to make it look cosy. Then Ray noticed the giant tv and next to it a shelf with an extensive game collection. Ray found himself wanting to go and rifle through the games, but common decency and the fact that he wasn't quite sure his legs could carry him, kept him on the couch.

Instead he pulled out his phone, noting that there was several missed calls from Michael and even one from Gavin. Well at least they cared enough to worry about him, he thought as he punched in Michael’s number, waiting for it to ring.

“Ray! Where the hell have you been!? You just fucking disappeared and we thought you'd gone home, but then you weren't here, and why the fuck can't you pick up your damn phone! I thought you'd gotten bloody murdered and stuffed into a christmas turkey or something! You can't just fucking disappear like that! Wait you've not actually been kidnapped by some psycho murderer and this is like a ransom call, right? Cause if that's the case, i hope you've told them how fucking poor you are and that they've seriously fucking kidnapped the wrong..”

“Michael! I've not been fucking kidnapped would you chill out a sec”

“You sure?”

“Yes, I'm fucking sure”

“No psycho murderer?”

Ray turned toward the doorway where Ryan had shown up, when he heard Ray talking. He had a frying pan in his hand and an honest to god ‘kiss the cook’ apron on. He looked about as threatening as a bunny slipper.

“Hey Ryan? You're not a psycho murderer, right?”

Ryan scrunched up his face in confusion. “I don't think so.. I'm actually like a good 99% sure that I'm not, definitely seems like the kinda thing I'd remember”

Ray laughed and Ryan smiled back at him before moving back into the kitchen.

“Who the fuck was that?!” Michael said loudly into Ray's ear.

“That’s Ryan”

“And who the fuck is Ryan, if i may ask!? Wait did you get lucky yesterday?! Did little Ray finally get his rocks off!?”

“Shut the fuck up Michael. Ryan is the guy who let me kip on his couch when i fell and hit my head outside his apartment and _you_ and Gavin had just left me inside that clothing store, when you knew I didn't even want to go in the first place!”

“Well that's why we thought you went home!”

“How the fuck did you think i went home, when _you_ drove me there and you _know_ how much i _hate_ public transport at Christmas!? Can't you just admit that you forgot me, instead of making up some stupid excuse!?”

“Ray, I swear we thought you'd gone-”

“Don't sweat it Michael, I'll see you later, have fun with Gavin.”

Ray put down the phone angrily just as Ryan came into the living room carrying a steaming pile of pancakes.

“Boyfriend problems?” he asked placing the pancakes and two plates on the coffee table.

“What? No! God no, Michael’s just my roommate and _supposedly_ my friend. I don't even… erh..”

“Swing that way?” Ryan said with a raised eyebrow.

“No! No, i totally do! I just.. I don’t know, don't even think about him like that. Michael’s been my best friend for years. He's just a dick sometimes.” Ray snorted. “I guess that's why we fit together so well, but i don't have a boyfriend, no.” he gave Ryan a half smile, blushing slightly.

“Well that's good to know” Ryan said with a smirk as he began to move pancakes to his plate.

Ray’s blush kicked up profusely and he hurried to busy himself with the pancakes.

An awkward silence filled the room for a bit.

Ray cleared his throat. “I guess i should thank you for helping me yesterday, so, yeah, thank you. And for today too, you didn't have to do that. I promise I'll get out of your hair as soon as i can.”

“Don't worry about it, you haven't been any trouble, and i could hardly leave you on the sidewalk. If you're arguing with your roommate, you can stay for as long as you want, I don't mind the company.”

“Oh, I really couldn't-”

“You probably shouldn't move around too much anyway, if you have a concussion.”

“Well, ok, thanks then.”

They smiled awkwardly at each other before digging back into the pancakes.

 

\-----

 

That night, Ray was lying awake in his bed back home. Michael hadn’t been there when he came back, which had been somewhat a relief.

Ryan had been really sweet and funny. They'd got to talking and found out that they shared a lot of similar interests, chiefly gaming. It hadn't taken them long after that to set up a game, Ryan challenging Ray's boasting of his so called ‘gaming skillz’. It also hadn't taken long for Ryan to realise that Ray wasn’t just boasting, but the older man had put up a real fight, more than anyone else had for a long time and Ray found himself genuinely enjoying the time he'd spent with Ryan. They'd really only known each other for a day, but they seemed to bounce off each other really well. Both had a very sarcastic, dark, and dry humour and they easily slipped into a comfortable conversation over the games they played. Before any of them knew it, it had been getting late, the weak winter sun disappearing early. Ryan had cooked dinner while Ray sat on the kitchen counter making small talk. After eating Ryan’s delicious pasta dish, Ryan had offered to take Ray home and since Ray in no way wished to go home on public transport after dark and with a headache, he'd said yes.

The drive had been weirdly awkward. They'd talked without pause for the entire day, but sitting in Ryan’s car, the windows fogging and the heating system on full power, the only thing breaking the silence being Ray's occasional guiding, it had felt somehow much more intimate.

When they'd arrived Ray felt like it was the end of some weird date, the air had been strangely loaded, and when they'd locked eyes for a second over the gearshift Ray had almost felt compelled to lean in and kiss Ryan, but then Ryan had broke into a smile and told Ray to be careful not to fall again on his way in and Ray had put his tongue out like some ridiculous five-year-old and stepped out the car. God why did he have to be so freaking awkward. Ryan probably thought he was some stupid kid. He hadn't even gotten his number. Maybe Ryan hadn't wanted to give him his number. Maybe he didn't even like him and this was all just him being kind and then hoping to never see Ray again. But he'd seemed to find Ray's stupid jokes funny, right? And he’d gotten so heated in their Destiny discussion, and he'd said that thing about it being good that Ray was single, that was flirting, right? Ryan had been flirting, that had to mean he didn't find Ray completely repulsive.

Ray finally fell asleep still mulling over the day and whether or not he should go and see Ryan again.

 

\-----

 

A week later Ray was standing outside Ryan’s apartment. He’d kept postponing it. Really, the only reason he was here now, was because earlier he'd been thinking about Ryan, and Michael, tired of watching him mope about the apartment, had yelled at him to get his shit together and just go see him. What's the worst the could happen, right?

Ray hadn't given him the satisfaction of telling him he was actually going to see Ryan, but now he was here and somehow he couldn't quite seem to muster up the courage to go and ring the doorbell.

It was getting pretty dark out by now, and Ray was shivering in his thin jacket. He knew that Ryan didn't get off his job before four, so he'd deliberately waited till he was sure Ryan had had enough time to get home.

Ray was almost about to chicken out and take a sad busride back home, when a voice from right behind him made him jump and fall over his own feet.

“Hey Ray-umpfh”

Ray landed on something soft, something soft and warm. He landed in someone's arms. Something soft and warm that smelled really nice. He landed in Ryan’s arms.

“I feel like we're beginning to make a habit out of this”

Ray could feel Ryan’s chest vibrate against his back as he spoke and felt his face heat up several degrees before awkwardly trying to stand up without keeling over again.

“You shouldn't sneak up on people like that, it's dangerous!” He said, turning around and swatting at Ryan’s arm.

“In my defense, I didn’t realise it was you standing outside my apartment before I was right behind you. I'm sorry if you've been waiting by the way, you look cold.”

“Don't think you're getting off that easily, but now that you mention it, I'm fucking freezing, I thought you said you got off at four, it's like half past five now!”

“Sorry, I had to go and do some grocery shopping first. If I'd realised I had a cute freezing hispanic on my doorstep, I would’ve hurried some more.”

Ryan smiled down at Ray, that crooked smile that made his eyes glint with mischief and Ray’s breath caught as he realised how close they were standing, chests almost touching.

“I've got enough food for two, if you wanna come up? I bought stuff to bake some bread and make a casserole”

“You had me at ‘food’ Rye.”

Ray gave a small shiver, not entirely from the cold, as their hands brushed when he moved aside to let Ryan up the small set of stairs.

Up in the apartment, Ray had found his place once again on the kitchen counter. Next to him Ryan was mixing dough for the bread and Ray had to stop himself from staring at the muscles working in Ryan’s arms while he kneaded the dough, sleeves drawn up so as to not get flour on them.

“Did you and Michael make up then?”

“Yeah, he's a dick sometimes, but he's still my best friend ya’ know”

“You know, I never asked what you were doing here that first day? I know Michael left you in the mall, but how'd you end up bumping into me? I mean, I shouldn’t have just stopped up in the middle of the sidewalk like that, but the street was almost empty, I just assumed that no one was there, and it's not as if there's any shops or anything down this road, it's rare that there's more than a few people here at a time.”

Ray felt his face heat up, a thing that seemed to be happening a lot when he was around Ryan.

“Well, erhm.. You know how i was really tired that day right?”

“Hmm?”

“I-erh.. I kinda walked past you in the mall, and erhm i thought your cologne smelled really good, so I just  kinda started following you, and ended up.. Well, yeah, you know the rest..” Ray trickled off, fidgeting and staring down at his hands.

Suddenly Ryan’s laughter filled the kitchen and warm hands enveloped Ray's.

Ray looked up into Ryan’s striking blue eyes when the other tucked slightly on his hands.

“So you walked into me, because you were following me, because i smelt nice?”

“Well that, and then that I was obviously delirious from tiredness.”

“Do you still think I smell nice?” Ryan said, voice going slightly deeper.

He was standing between Ray's legs now, right in front of the counter. So close he could feel his breath on his face. A loaded silence stretched between them.

“You've got flour on your face” Ray said and reached a hand out brushing at Ryan’s cheek. Ryan leaned into the touch and Ray let his hand cup Ryan’s face. Slowly Ryan leaned towards him, stopping a few inches from his face, blue eyes flickering to Ray's  mouth in an unsaid question. Ray closed the gap.

Ryan’s lips were soft, but slightly chapped from the cold outside. Ray opened his mouth slightly and Ryan took the invitation. He tasted like coffee and new rain.

Ray's hand, still on Ryan’s jaw, was joined by the other as they slid into his hair, fingers tangling in the soft strands. He could feel Ryan’s hands slide op his thighs as the kiss grew more heated. When they finally parted, they were both panting and Ray's lips felt bruised. They breathed each other's air for a moment before Ryan chuckled slightly.

“It was a gift” he said.

Ray scrunched his face up in confusion. “What?”

“The cologne. It was a gift. A friend who thought I needed to, how did he put it, ‘go get myself some hot ass’, I think was his exact words.”

“Well..” Ray crooked an eyebrow and smirked, “I think that's mission accomplished then.”

Ryan broke into laughter and leant in to give Ray another kiss, though it was slightly hindered by his continued chuckling.

“I'm really glad Michael dragged you to the mall, Ray.”

“Yeah, me too.”


End file.
